


in squished tomatoes we trust

by 94chaes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Family Fluff, Kid Lee Jooheon, Kid Lim Changkyun | I.M, M/M, Mentioned Shin Hoseok | Wonho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 05:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13710696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/94chaes/pseuds/94chaes
Summary: tomatoes are one way of scoring a date with your cute neighbor.





	in squished tomatoes we trust

it wasn't up until he recognized the incessant cries as  _his son's_ before jolting out of bed, his senses alert. it was only seven in the morning, and his kids are usually up at this time in the morning, whereas hyungwon should be as well, but sleep got the best of him, again. he runs outside his room with frantic and immediate steps out the hall and to their living room. his jaw dropped to the floor while his twins looked at him, there's a broken vase hyungwon doesn't remember having on the floor. 

jooheon must've interpreted his father's silence as anger and bursts into tears again, and his youngest was just as ready to jump into his defense. 

hyungwon sighs. he certainly did not expect to be woken up so early after finishing a deadline not too long ago. he also knew his kids were capable of getting busy with playing and would wake him up if there was anything they needed. now, changkyun could've done something before hyungwon could get a hold of the situation. his youngest is always cunning and fast calculated, and while jooheon is just as smart and sweet, emotions get a hold of him sometimes. 

hyungwon glances at the mess in the living room, shards of porcelain across the floor, and a suspiciously looking ball laying not too far from where the scene is at, and back to his eldest, his heart growing soft at the sight. he knew that his kids won, yet again. he never had the heart to shout at them, nor did they ever cause a scene for hyungwon to snap at them -- but nonetheless, hyungwon knew he would never.

"come here." with a soft smile in his face, hyungwon crouches down, his arms spread widely for jooheon to slot himself in his father's chest. the six-year-old runs immediately to his father, saying broken apologies in the midst of crying. 

"heoney's sowwy, daddy." changkyun fidgets with his fingers, his older brother is too occupied to even talk. "the ball just went..." the youngest tries to mimic what he thinks happened (and hyungwon was so sure there weren't spaceships involved, his kids are just so addicted to star wars lately) and hyungwon has to feign reactions right away, chuckling now and then at changkyun's antics. jooheon is now calmed in his neck, giggling slightly at his brother's attempt to a story telling. 

and the tall man's heart melts. he wouldn't mind to wake up very early for these two kids in his arms. 

"alright, bub. you two go and play outside. daddy's gonna clean up here for a while." the twins immediately perked up with the word 'play' and nodded at hyungwon, their eyes twinkling with excitement. "jooheon, please take care of changkyun for me, okay?" the eldest nodded, tugging the latter to kiss their father first then runs towards the back door. hyungwon shakes his head fondly and grabs the broom, carefully sweeping the places the shards could've been in. he can't help but to think that his kids are troublemakers, but he loves them more than  _anything_ in the world. 

being a single parent is not that hard, if hyungwon comes to think of it. sure, it involves a lot of mess and late-night to early-morning duties, but he wouldn't trade it for the world, especially if jooheon and changkyun are the best thing that has ever happened in hyungwon's mundane life.

most people think it's such a waste. for someone so young and aspiring to settle down and have kids as early as twenty-five, and thought that he could have been a lot more successful than being a writer. hyungwon have managed to listen to middle-aged women at school whenever the kids have parent-teacher meeting go on and on about it, providing him some ladies his age to help him support his kids (which he politely declines) and learns to stop listening to these nonsense. he has these wonderful kids that would bring happiness in his life, and he's contented with the three of them for as long as hyungwon finds a certain someone for it. 

he couldn't bear to let someone get dragged into the literal mess they signed up in. 

"daddy!! jooheoney's cwying again!" he hears his youngest scream from the back, making him drop the broom and the dustpan and dash out the back door to find one of his children hovering over the fence and his older brother on the neighbor's side, sitting on what looked like tomatoes. 

hyungwon sighs again, he had never met his neighbor. between his children and writing drafts and having mental breakdowns, he never found the time to mingle with a lot of people. in fact, now that he thought of it, he didn't have the time to welcome them the first time they moved in. hyungwon knows he earned the Rudest Neighbor award for the past few years (although his kids are angels, they say). he rarely had friends or colleagues over other than hoseok, who doesn't know the meaning of personal space and kept on inviting himself in. hyungwon recalls the time when his associate editor told him about the new guy moving to the house next to them. 

he worriedly glances to the squished plants his eldest had the misfortune of sitting upon. well at least his son wasn't  _that_ hurt. the three of them snaps their heads up when the back door of their neighbor's flew open, revealing a small man with the cutest face hyungwon has ever seen. 

and he looks angry.. devastated, even. 

the neighbor drops his watering can and gawked at jooheon. 

"my fresh tomatoes!"

changkyun held his father's hand, and jooheon was on the verge of crying again. 

"oh my god my tomatoes!" his neighbor exclaimed again, looking like he's almost going to cry. 

"he's sowwy, mister... we just wanted to get the ball ovew youw fence..." his youngest tries to explain, getting over the fence as fast and skillful (when did he ever learn to do that) to come to his brother's aid. hyungwon stepped into the frame, because their neighbor was too busy looking at his children and his tomatoes to notice him. 

"my kids didn't mean it... uh.." hyungwon scrunches his brows, remembering what his neighbor's name is. hoseok has been mentioning it for a lot of times he's over the chae's household. "kihyun?" his gears clicked into place, going back to the last time hoseok was over and mentioned the name of the new man. 

kihyun looks up at him and blinks momentarily, then glances at the two kids. and then back again to hyungwon, fazed. hyungwon thought he must've loved his tomatoes dearly his brain is having a hard time trying to process it. hyungwon coughs, the silence was too unbearable, and his neighbor's stares are getting under his skin. not that he minded, of course. hyungwon can tell by the confused looks by his kids that it took a while before their neighbor snapped out of his trance.

"uh, yeah. it's er..okay." kihyun rubs the back of his neck. hyungwon raises a brow at this, and jooheon perplexed, the child can't believe that he's being spared for an earful later by his father. even though they were sure as hell the small man was about to give them one the moment he stepped outside his garden. hyungwon finds this amusing, but kept his mouth shut. 

"are you sure? jooheon ruined it a lot..." the taller says, still not sure about their neighbor's sudden change of demeanor. "he's really sorry, kihyun."

"it's okay! it's really okay, uh.." he looks around, finding something, until he spots the ball and handed it over to him. "here, tomatoes are going to get planted again and grow soon so, i wouldn't worry about it that much."

"are you really sure? i can pay for it." he urges his kids to go over the fence because  _why are they still standing there_ and gestures to apologize again. 

"we're sowwy, mister."

kihyun shakes his head, "no, no. it's really okay. these are just fresh tomatoes and could've been perfect for the salad i'm making but it's okay, i promise!" 

hyungwon feels his kids tugging his sleeves. something was up and hyungwon was about to find out. 

"daddy... he's weird." changkyun mutters, making his father crouch down his level. it made hyungwon crack up. "i don't like it.. daddy."

"is it really okay, kihyun?" hyungwon asks again out of sheer curiosity. 

"yeah. i mean it's not all the time that someone just as gorgeous as you bless my garden, isn't it?"

jooheon drops the ball, and changkyun holds hyungwon's hand tight, his chuckles getting the best of him, and their father's jaw drops to the grass, too stunned to even react rationally. kihyun realizes his mistake and smacks his mouth shut, his face getting red from embarrassment. it has come to hyungwon's mind that their neighbor is blushing, and the past actions has been nothing but kihyun being flustered.

"o.. oh no. i mean, i'm sorry. it's okay. i.. i really didn't mean.. oh my god."

"you like daddy, mister?" jooheon smiles, looking at his father and the neighbor back and forth.

"go away stop bullying me." kihyun hides his face in his hands. "your kids are bullying me."

"yeah well... they are my kids after all. wanna come over?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this is, to be honest
> 
> twt — @forchaes


End file.
